I know that some of the things which happen in these stories are not likely, but sometimes I wonder if they are not possible in some way.

I've always liked the classic "young adult" writers like Mark Twain, Jack London, Roald Dahl, Charles Dickens. They write so clearly, and they know how to entertain.

I'm not very disciplined. I tend to write late at night because I get distracted during the day.

I'm just a dog person. I love dogs very much, especially big ones, hounds, and retrievers. I think they are funny and often have good senses of humor. Plus, they give unconditional love.

I have two dogs myself and they are always around when I write, so they tend to creep in there.

I like people who lead unusual lives, and very often a person with a disability fits into that category.

I wanted to do a collection where the narrator is constant throughout, so that there's a little unity.

I'm trying to write stories that are interesting and enjoyable.

I want the situations and plots to be surprising and unusual.

I've found that I seek out oddballs; I like strange and eccentric people a lot.

Sometimes the autobiographical link in each story is very literal, like I did work at The Texas School for the Blind, and I did once lose a mattress out of the back of a friend's truck.

It's hard to catch up when you are running second in a race with time.

Love means to commit yourself without guarantee.

Abraham Lincoln was a melancholy man, so he had a dark side that appeals to horror fans.

When you start doing what you love to do, you will never work another day in your life.

I personally just love movies about the creative process.

My father owned pit bulls when I was young. He sometimes fought them. My brother and a lot of the men in my community owned pit bulls as well: sometimes they fought them for honor, never for money.

Trouble is one of God's great servants because it reminds us how much we continually need the Lord.

I find it hard to take chances that might mean making bad decisions.

The sad rhyme of the men who proudly clung To their first fault, and withered in their pride.